Rail lubricator



May 3, 1938. T. A. .s. MUNFORD RAIL LUBRICATOR Filed June 28, 1937 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Luz El.

ICE-n 1| Inuefitu'r T-H. F1. MIJNFDR'I] v J g f 1: nrfleg Afs. MUNFORDRAIL LUBRICATOR Filed. June 28, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 3,1938 PATENT OFFICE RAIL LUBRJCATOR Thomas Albert Sprake Munford,Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application June 28, 1937, Serial No. 150,689In Canada May 8, 1937 7 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in rail lubricators of the kinddescribed and claimed in my United States Patent No. 2,082,414 issuedJune 1, 1937 and an object of the invention is to devise an improvedshoe adaptedto be propelled along the tread of a railroad rail whichwill more readily accommodate itself to varying widths of rail treadwhich occur due to the wear on the inner side face thereof caused bycontact with the rolling stock wheel flanges.

A further object is to provide improved means for more evenlydistributing the lubricant from the dispensing element on the shoe uponthe inner side face of the rail tread.

. 'With the above and other objects in view which will become apparentas the specification proceeds, my invention consists, in its preferredembodiment, of the construction and arrangement all as hereinafter moreparticularly described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings inwhich:

Fig. 1 represents aside elevation of the device (partly in section)showing it applied to a track rail.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof.

3 is a vertical cross-sectional View of the shoe taken on the line 3-3(Fig. 1).

Fig. .4 is a plan view thereof.

Fig. 5 is a similar section to Fig. 3 taken on the line 5'51(Fig. 1),and

. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a modified form of shoe in whichthe lubricant feed to the dispensing element is through the operatinghandle and its connection with the shoe.

Like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in thediiferent views.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 5 of the drawings the shoe comprises asubstantially rectangular frame i in which transverse rollers 2 arejournalled adjacent to its ends by means of spindles 3' extending freelythrough the rollers and the side members of the frame.

Laterally adjustable depending elements are provided on the frame Iwhich in the embodiment of the invention as illustrated may take theform of discsd and 5 freely rotatable and movable longitudinally on thespindles 3 respectively outside the side members of the frame, the sidemember adjacent the discs 5 being offset to receive such discs. Spiralsprings 6 are provided on the spindles 3 between the discs 4 and washersor other enlargements T on the ends of the spindles 3 overlying theouter side of the rail. The inner or rail tread engaging faces of thediscs 4 and-5 are bevelled or made conical with their inclinationcorresponding to the inclination of the side faces of the rail treadwith which it engages.

The side member of the frame overlying the inner side of the rail treadportion is provided 5 with 2. depending abutment 8 adapted to engagesuch rail tread portion side and the abutment includes a lubricantdispensing element 9 having a vertical here I ll communicating withlateral orifices H extending to the surface of the abut- 10 ment whichengages the side of the rail tread portion.

The abutment is recessed rearwardly and forwardly of'the dispensingelement to accommodate U-shaped lubricant spreading members l2 com- 15posed, for instance, of leather. These members l2 straddle the abutmentand are held in. place by small bolts I 3.

The lower portion of the operating handle is provided witha T-shapedlower end which is transversely fulcrumed to the frame I by means of thebolt I5 and the upper end of the portion M is secured to-lubricantcontaining cylinder l6 mounted concentrically therewith and providedwith a reciprocable plunger IT. The upper portion ill of the handlewhich is in the form of a tube extends upwardly from the upper end ofthe cylinder I6 and is concentric therewith. The upper end of the handleportion I8 is closed by a cap I 9 and a sleeve 20 extends downwardlytherethrough and through the portion l8 being rotatable with respect toboth. The lower end of the sleeve 20 is provided with an internallythreaded shouldered bushing 2| into which is threaded a plunger rod 22secured at its lower end to the plunger I1. The upper end of the sleeve20 has secured to it an operating knob 23 which abuts the cap 19. A-fiexibl'e tube 24 connects a cock 25 in the bottom of the lubricantcontaining cylinder with 40 the bore ID of the dispensing element 9 inthe shoe.

A lubricant level indicator for the lubricant in the cylinder l6 may beprovided. As illustrated it consists of a rod 25 secured at its lowerend to the plunger I1 and extending freely through the topof thecylinder Hi, the upper end of the rod being in the form of a ringextending around the upper portion l8 of the handle.

The apparatus actuates as follows: 50

When the shoe is pushed along a rail by the handle, the knob 23 havingpreviously been turned the required amount and with it the sleeve 20 andthe attached bushing 2| wherein the plunger rod 22 and the attachedplunger will be forced 55 downwardly, upon opening of the cock 25lubricant will be forced through the tube 24, dispensing element 9,orifices ll onto the side of the tread portion of the rail in the formof beads. The member I2 following the abutment and. also the disc willsmear the grease or other lubricant upon such tread portion side.

By intermittently operating the knob 23 continuous pressure can beexerted by the plunger H on the lubricant in the cylinder l6 and thusthere will be a continuous feed of lubricant onto the rail as theapparatus is propelled along the same.

Moreover, by simply swinging over the handle the shoe can be actuatedalong the rail in either direction.

The provision of the discs 4 and 5 and the springs 6 resiliently holdingsuch discs in engagement with the sides of the tread portion of the railpermit of the shoe accommodating itself to rail treads of varying widthsas will occur where new and worn rails are alternatively encountered,thus holding the dispensing element outlet in contact with the rail.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 6 the tube 24 is dispensed withand the lubricant from the cylinder I6 is fed through the handle portionM, which in this case is hollow, through its T- shaped lower end intothe hollow bolt 21, which is the counterpart of the bolt l5 illustratedin Figs. 1 to 5, into the bore of the dispensing element whichcommunicates therewith and thereafter is dispensed onto the rail asabove described. If desired the portion [4 may be provided with a cock(not shown) for controlling the flow of lubricant from the cylinder Hi.

What I claim as my invention is: g

1. In a rail lubricator, in combination, a shoe adapted to be movedlongitudinally along the rail and comprising a substantially rectangularframe, spaced apart transverse rollers disposed in such frame, spindlesextending freely through the rollers and the side members of the frameand constituting means for journalling the rollers in the frame, discsrotatably and slidably mounted on the spindles exteriorly of the frameand adapted to engage the inner and outer side faces of the rail tread,and resilient means on the spindles for causing the discs to contact theinner and outer side faces of the rail tread irrespective of variationsin the width of such rail tread.

2. In a rail lubricator, in combination, a shoe adapted to be movedlongitudinally along the rail and comprising a substantially rectangularframe, spaced apart transverse rollers disposed in such frame, spindlesextending freely through the rollers and the side members of the frameand constituting means for journalling the rollers in the frame, discsrotatably and slidably mounted on the spindles exteriorly of the frameand having their inner faces bevelled to correspond in inclination withthe inclination of the side faces of the rail tread with which theyengage, and resilient means on the spindles for causing the discs tocontact the inner and outer side faces of the rail tread irrespective ofvariations in the width of such rail tread.

3. In a rail lubricator, in combination, a shoe adapted to be movedlongitudinally along the rail and comprising a substantially rectangularframe, spaced apart transverse rollers disposed in such frame, spindlesextending freely through the rollers and the side members of the frameand constituting means for journalling the rollers in the frame, discsrotatably and slidably mounted on the spindles exteriorly of the frameand adapted to engage the inner and outer side faces of the rail tread,resilient means on the spindles for causing the discs to contact theinner and outer side faces of the rail tread irrespective of variationsin the width of such rail tread, and a depending abutment including alubricant dispensing element on the side member of the frame overlyingthe inner side face of the rail tread and adapted to substantially abutsuch inner side face of the rail tread, said abutment being positionedbetween the discs disposed exteriorly of the aforesaid side member ofthe frame.

4. In a rail lubricator, in combination, a shoe adapted to be movedlongitudinally along the rail and comprising a substantially rectangularframe, spaced apart transverse rollers disposed in such frame, spindlesextending freely through the rollers and the side members of the frameand constituting means for journalling the rollers in the frame, discsrotatably and slidably mounted on the spindles exteriorly of the frameand having their inner faces bevelled to correspond in inclination withthe inclination of the side faces of the rail tread with which theyengage, resilient means on the spindles for causing the discs to contactthe inner and outer side faces of the rail tread irrespective ofvariations in the width of such rail tread, and a depending abutmentincluding a lubricant dispensing element on the side member of the frameoverlying the inner side face of the rail tread and adapted tosubstantially abut such inner side face of the rail tread, said abutmentbeing positioned between the discs disposed exteriorly of the aforesaidside member of the frame.

5. A construction as claimed in claim 4 wherein the inner face of theabutment is inclined to correspond with the inclination of the innerfaces of the discs between which it is positioned and with theinclination of the inner side face of the rail tread with which it isadapted to abut, and the aforesaid side member of the frame is offset toreceive such discs and bring their inner faces in alignment with theinner face of the abutment.

6 In a rail lubricator, in combination, a shoe adapted to be movedlongitudinally along the rail and comprising a substantially rectangularframe, spaced apart transverse rollers disposed in such frame, spindlesextending freely through the rollers and the side members of the frameand constituting means for journalling the rollers in the frame, discsrotatably and slidably mounted on the spindles exteriorly of the frameand adapted to engage the inner and outer side faces of the rail tread,resilient means on the spindles for causing the discs to contact theinner and outer side faces of the rail tread irrespective of variationsin the width of such rail tread, a depending abutment including alubricant dispensing element on the side member of the frame overlyingthe inner side face of the rail tread and adapted to substantially abutsuch inner side face of the rail tread, said abutment being positionedbetween the discs disposed exteriorly of the aforesaid side member ofthe frame, and lubricant wiping elements disposed on the abutmentbetween its lubricant dispensing element and the aforesaid discs.

7. A construction as claimed in claim 6 Wherein the lubricant wipingelements comprise depending U-shaped strips of material straddling theabutment and secured thereto.

THOMAS ALBERT SPRAKE MUNFORD.

